British Telecom (BT) Hiring Process, Interview Questions, Aptitude Tests & Assessment Center Preparation – 2024
This article will help job seekers who are looking at British Telecom (BT) for their career future. Included are facts about the BT hiring process along with preparation tips for candidates at all stages of the process.
What Is British Telecom?
BT is a telecommunications company headquartered in London. It has operations in 180 countries with more than 99,700 employees. Applicants can apply for jobs in customer service, sales, marketing, engineering, business services, and more. Most of these positions will require you to be a college graduate.
Positions With British Telecom
There are positions with British Telecom for people from a wide range of backgrounds. As a global company working with both the public and private sectors it takes a combination of entry and experienced careers to keep things running. Some of the positions available include:
The BT hiring process takes about a month total with four steps: an online application, online assessments, a video interview, and an assessment centre.
When applying for BT online, you are asked to not only attach your resume/ CV, but also to answer some short-response questions (300-word limit) designed to assess your eligibility for the role along with your motivation for applying.
British Telecom Assessments
After you submit your application, you will be asked to complete some online assessments. Every candidate will complete the Situational Strengths Test, and then depending on the industry you are applying for, you may be asked to take some additional psychometrics.
Situational Strengths Test
The Situational Strengths Test will give you hypothetical scenarios you may face when working at BT and then will ask you what you would do. The purpose of the exam is to assess your natural strengths. To prepare, practice some SST example questions. If you are applying for Openreach, this is also known as the BT Openreach Online Aptitude Test.
Numerical Reasoning
Candidates also know this test as the BT math test. The math test will examine your ability to interpret data in a table or chart. You will be required to use basic addition and subtraction in this assessment within a time limit (20 questions in 20 minutes). If you are applying for the BT division of Openreach, you will be asked to take the Openreach Math Test specifically, which is similar, but more specific to the needs of Openreach.
Verbal Reasoning Test
Candidates also know this test as the BT English test. The English test will identify if you can comprehend a previously unseen passage and analyse the information to answer true/false and other multiple-choice questions about the passage correctly. If you are applying for the BT division of Openreach, you will be asked to take the Openreach English Test specifically, which is similar, but more specific to the needs of Openreach.
Technical Aptitude Test
If you are applying for a technical job at BT, you will be asked to complete the Technical Aptitude Test which assesses mechanical, spatial, and diagrammatic reasoning skills. Mechanical questions will be about basic concepts of Newtonian mechanics along with an understanding of actions and reactions of gears, levers, and pulleys. Spatial reasoning questions will present you with items, either in 2D or 3D, and ask you to imagine the items folded or unfolded. Diagrammatic reasoning questions ask you to identify patterns in matrices and predict the matrix in the series. Software engineers may also be asked to complete a written test along with the technical aptitude test. The BT written test for software engineers mainly asks questions having to do with coding.
Gurgaon Aptitude Test
Another specific assessment you may run into in applying for BT is the Gurgaon Aptitude Test. This test will only apply to those applying to the operations branch in Gurgaon, India and will consist of questions relating to quantitative reasoning, English, and writing skills.
BT Written Test for Finance
If you are applying for a financial position at BT, you will also be asked to complete a written test for finance that will assess your knowledge about the subject. An example question that may appear on the BT written test for finance is: A company has a capital of $0.7mn, 20% of which is paid up. During the year, the company incurred $30,000 of loss. Accumulated loss carried from last year is $0.3mn. What is the tangible net worth of the company?
British Telecom Interview Process
After the assessments are completed, you will be invited to a 30-minute video interview with BT. It is possible that you may also have a short telephone interview with a recruiter where they may ask some clarifying questions about your background. The video interview is not live but is instead an online interview. You will be shown a question, given some time to think about your answer, and then you will record your response and someone from BT will review your interview.
After the screening of your video interview, you will be invited to come onsite for assessment centres including a one-on-one interview. Some example interview questions that you might be asked are:
Tell me about a time you improved a process. In your answer, show that you can analyse a present situation and see what processes need improvement. Then, show that you can make a plan for how to improve said process including influencing the people needed to make changes to the process. Finally, show that you implemented the change and explain the impact of change.
How will you be a success at BT? For this question, be sure not to brag, but also not to be self-deprecating. The main purpose is to show how your strengths are aligned with the requirements of the role. The trick here is to know the job description and qualifications well in order to show that you understand what they want in an employee.
Why are you interested in the role? To answer, first focus on why you want to work at BT specifically, then, once again, align your skills and experiences with the qualifications for the role, and finally connect the company and role to your career trajectory.
What do you know about BT? To prepare for this question, research BT online, making sure to look specifically at their website and what has been said in the news about them lately. Make sure that you understand BT’s purpose and values along with some key projects that the company is known for. Places to look are BT’s official website, the news, BT’s social media pages, and LinkedIn.
BT Interview Tips
Tips to succeed for the BT interview are to do your research on the company (what it does, how it does well), be comfortable explaining your past experience, know the job description, and try to be as relaxed and confident as possible. Also, make sure to read up on BT values and think of examples of when you’ve demonstrated these skills in the past.
British Telecom Assessment Center
When you go in for your onsite interview, you’ll also be asked to complete some assessment centres, the amount and type of which depends on your role. This will generally last a whole day, and you will be with 10-12 other candidates with six assessors evaluating your performance. The common BT assessment centres are:
Presentation Exercise For the presentation exercise, 4-5 days before you come in, you will be given a topic related to your future role to present on. Your presentation should last 10 minutes, and there will be 5-10 minutes of questions afterwards. The assessors are mainly looking for your delivery and content.
Group Exercise In the group exercise, you will be with 4-6 other candidates with whom you will have to come to a collective decision on an investment idea. Each member will get an individual proposition for the investment idea and be given 10 minutes to read over the proposal and come up with a way to present their proposal to the group. The group will have 40 minutes to discuss the different proposals and decide on the best option. Remember, this exercise is not about winning, but instead for the assessors to see how you work with and persuade others.
Case Study For the case study, you will be given 8-10 pages of information to read through and make an analysis of. You will have 45 minutes to complete your analysis, and you will have 10 minutes to discuss your findings with an assessor. Overall, the assessor is looking at your written, communication, and analytical skills.
If you are applying for BT Openreach, the assessment centres are very similar with only some slight variations.
How to Pass BT Assessment Tests
For all the assessments and assessment centres that you will be taking part in as you try to become a part of BT, the keys to success are to be yourself, manage your time well, demonstrate that you have the BT values, and know how the organisation is run.
Conclusion
After you have completed the assessment centres, if all goes well, you will receive an offer from BT! If this is the case, there are some pre-employment checks and paperwork you will be asked to complete before beginning your work there. Overall, BT is a great company to become a part of, and, as so, will require work and effort to get through the recruitment process. Most of all, they suggest applicants show their personality and be confident in their answers and performances, as they are looking for someone who is a clear fit with the company. If you make sure you know your own skills along with the values of the company well, then you will be ready to have your career launched at BT!
